Grave marker



Patented Apr. 22,71952 UNITED sTATl-:s PATENT oFFlcE' GRAVE Mannen Oliver A. Marsh, Qulncy, Ill. Application October 28, 1949, Serial N0.31424,0s4

2 olaim's. (cl. 40-1245) l This invention relates to a grave marker, and more particularly to a grave marker which may be made of ornamental stone or granite supported above the ground at a selected low level.

It is an object of this invention to provide a grave marker of the kind to be more particularly described hereinafter, which is made of a suitably hard material to withstand the wear of Weather and lack of care for suitably hearing the inscriptlons thereon in a permanent manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide a grave-marking device formed to be'relatively portable, while of a suitable nature to withstand the wear and abuse of time and weather to which it Will be continually exposed.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a grave marker of this kind which may be formed at a relatively low cost, the marker having a stone base on ywhich is secured a metal plate hearing the desired inscription. The metal plate will bear, by engraving, the desired inscription and will be secured on the stone base member.

A further object of this invention is to provide a marker of this kind having a stone base member on which a metal inscription plate may be secured. A large number of similar stone' base members may be formed in an identical manner and the metal plate carried by each base may be engraved to suit the particular purchasers. The engraving of the metal plate may be done at a cost considerably less than stone cutting, and the stone base Will provide the granite-like appearance and long-lasting quality desired in devices of this kind. The supporting members for the grave marker are preferably secured to the stone base by the same connecting means used for securng the name plate.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and. specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of a grave marker formed according to an embodiment of this invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section, takenon the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partly broken away;

Figure 4 is a transverse section, partly broken away and partly in section, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral designates generally a grave marker formed according to an embodiment of my invention. The

grave marker lll is formed with a stone or granlte base member or stone having a name plate l2 mounted on the upper side and supporting legs l4 depending therefrom.

The base member or stone ll, while being shown as elliptical in configuration in the drawings, may be of any other peripheral configuration determined by the mold in which the stones are cast. A recess l5 is formed on the upper face |6 of the base member I I in the center thereof, and a marginal bead ll about the peripheral edge of the base l'l and recess l5. The name plate |2is adapted to bejsnugly seated in the recess |5 with the peripheral, edges inabutting engagement with the inner edge of the bead l'l. The name plate l 2 will bear on its yupper face the inscription desired. The inscription, not shown in the drawings, may be inscribed by engraving or other suitable means, and will obviate the requirement of cutting the inscription in stone, generally required in stone grave markers heretofore in use.

A pair of openings [8 are formed through the base member Il adjacent each end thereof. The openings |8 are hexagonal, or otherwise irregular, in cross-section, and open on the top face IB within the limits of the recess IS. The lower ends of the openings open downwardly through the lowerface l9. The openings l8 may be formed by using the nut members 20 within the mold used for casting the stone ll.

A fastening element or hexagonal nut member 20 is fit 'or cast into each opening l8 and substantially fills the opening, the opposite ends lying in a plane flush with the base of the recess l5 and lower face |9 of the stone l I, clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. The nuts 20 are positioned within the mold at the time of the formation of the stone and thereby secured therein. While a hexagonal nut or anchor member 20 is shown in the drawings, it will be understood that any other irregularly-shaped nut may be used to fill the irregularly-shaped cross-sectional openings IS and hold the nut against rotation therein.

Each nut 20 is formed with a restricted threaded bore 2| opening from the upper side thereof and an enlarged, threaded bore 22 opening on the lower side. The bores 2! and 22 are formed on the same axis for disposing the respective threaded bores coaxially.

Screws or securing elements 24 are engaged through the opposite ends of the name plate |2 and into the respective restricted, threaded bores 2| in the nuts 20. for securing the name plate to the stone base member Il. The nuts 20 and name plate l2 will be preferably formed of brass, stainless steel or other suitable corrosive-resistant material. The supporting legs or members N are threadably engaged in the enlarged bores 22 of the nut members 20 and depend therefrom. The supporting legs l4 are formed as elongated metal bars or rods 25 tapered or pointed at their lower ends for penetration into the ground and threaded at their upper ends for threaded engagement in the enlarged threaded bore 22 of each nut member 20.

The upper threaded ends of the legs I4 are bent at an angle to the length of the rod 25, Whereby, upon engagement With the nut members, the legs lll will support the base member and plate at an inclination to the ground.

I do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of construction herein disclosed, but claim all Variations falling within the purview of the appended claims.

I 'claimz 1. A grave marker comprising a flat stone having a recess extending inwardly from one face intermediate the bounding edges thereof, spaced fastening elements fixedly supported in said stone and each having one end fiush with the base of said recess, a plate positioned within said recess and having its edges engageable with the bounding wall thereof, spaced legs arranged transversely of said stone adjacent the other face and each having one end extending partially'through the adjacent fastening element and Secured therein, the other end of each of said legs being adapted to penetrate into a ground surface, and a securing element extending through said plate and partially through each of the adjacent fastening elements for attaching said plate to said stone.

recess and having its edges engageable with the bounding Wall thereof, spaced legs arranged transversely of said stone adjacent the other face and each having one end in threaded engagement with the first named threaded portion of the adjacent nut and Secured therein, the other end of each of said legs being adapted to penetrate into a ground surface, and a threaded screw extending through said plate and said second named portion of each of the adjacent nuts.

OLJVER A. MARSH.

I REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 700,904 Delaney May 27, 1902 863,354 Brownsberger Aug. 13, 1907 l,24-l,18l Wilhelm Sept. 25, 1917 2,0l7,335 Adams Oct. 15, 1-935 

